Taxpayer Confidentiality

Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the guidelines and rules regarding the confidentiality of individuals' tax returns and tax affairs. [31222]

Dawn Primarolo:
The position under successive Governments has been that the law on taxpayer confidentiality prevents the Inland Revenue from disclosing any information relating to the tax affairs of an individual taxpayer except where that disclosure is permitted by law or where the individual involved has consented to disclosure.

Mr. Gibb:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what access (a) civil servants outside the Inland Revenue and (b) Ministers have to the details of the tax affairs of individual citizens. [31451]

Dawn Primarolo:
The position under successive Governments has been that the law on taxpayer confidentiality prevents the Inland Revenue from disclosing any information relating to the tax affairs of an individual taxpayer except where that disclosure is permitted by law or where the individual involved has consented to disclosure. These rules apply to civil servants outside the Inland Revenue and Ministers in the same way as to other third parties.

31 Jan 2002 : Column 519W

Gibraltar

Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) people resident and (b) businesses users operating in Gibraltar have UK tax liabilities. [31931]

Dawn Primarolo:
The requested information is not available.

Footballers

Mr. Blizzard:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the criteria used to determine whether proceeds from footballers' testimonial events are regarded as taxable income; and if he will extend the criteria to increase the tax liability on this revenue for full-time professional footballers. [31852]

Dawn Primarolo:
If proceeds from a testimonial match are connected with the termination of a footballers' employment they are taxable if they exceed a £30,000 exemption limit.

And if a footballer becomes entitled to a testimonial after a specific period of service to a club, or under an agreement made with the club on signing, the proceeds may be taxable in full as income from his employment.

But if no such entitlement exists and a testimonial match is organised by a testimonial committee on the individual's behalf, rather than by the employer, the proceeds do not come from his employment, but from individuals marking their esteem for the individual's personal qualities or general contributions to the game. These payments are of a personal nature and are not therefore taxable in the same way that other gifts are not taxable.

We have no current plans to change the tax treatment of footballers' testimonial payments. However, we keep all aspects of the tax system, including this one, under regular review.

Pension Credit

Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his answer of 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 770W, on pension credit, (1) how many representations he has received (a) supporting and (b) opposing the marginal tax rate in the pension credit; [32072]

(2) how many representations he has received (a) supporting and (b) opposing the pension credit savings limit. [32071]

Dawn Primarolo:
I refer to the reply I gave on 14 November 2001, Official Report, column 770W, and have nothing further to add.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Prison Service

Syd Rapson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the Prison Service's corporate plan for 200203 to 200405 and business plan and key performance indicators for 200203. [32769]

31 Jan 2002 : Column 520W

Beverley Hughes:
The Prison Service corporate plan for 200203 to 200405 and business plan for 200203, which includes the key performance indicators agreed so far, has been published today and copies have been placed in the Library.

Terrorism Act 2000

Syd Rapson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will lay before Parliament a report on the working of the Terrorism Act 2000. [32770]

Mr. Blunkett:
I am pleased to say that Lord Carlile of Berriew QC has completed the report on part VII of the Act, which relates solely to Northern Ireland, which will be laid before Parliament today. A full report will be published later this year.

Lewes Prison (Drug Testing)

Norman Baker:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Stinchcombe) of 10 January 2002, Official Report, column 100812W, if he will make a statement on the percentage of prisoners tested positive in random mandatory drug tests at HMP Lewes. [28707]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 22 January 2002]: The rate of positive random mandatory drug tests (MDT) at Lewes prison for each of the months given in the answer of 10 January 2002 is shown in the table:

2001

Average population

Rate of positive MDT (%)

January

411

27.3

February

414

18.1

March

445

10.0

April

446

30.4

May

435

40.0

June

443

36.4

July

471

37.5

August

478

30.0

September

471

25.0

October

468

24.0

November

467

32.0

December

474

33.3

MDT data from September 2001 are provisional and subject to validation.

Court Proceedings

Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) criminal prosecutions, (b) either-way case prosecutions, (c) summary only prosecutions and (d) indictment only prosecutions there were in each of the last 10 years. [29646]

Mr. Keith Bradley:
The following table provides the available information, extracted from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, which relates to the number of defendants proceeded against in each of the years 1991 to 2000 in England and Wales.

Statistics for 2001 are not yet available.

31 Jan 2002 : Column 521W

Defendants proceeded against for various categories of offences,

England and Wales, 1991 to 2000

Defendants proceeded against for:

Year

Total defendants proceeded against

Triable either way offences

Summary offences

Indictable only offences

1991

1,955,917

462,362

1,466,860

26,695

1992

2,029,910

462,000

1,539,633

28,277

1993

1,956,271

449,632

1,477,463

29,176

1994

1,947,165

466,772

1,449,839

30,554

1995

1,836,307

434,091

1,372,786

29,430

1996

1,919,494

432,558

1,454,817

32,119

1997

1,855,333

454,432

1,368,632

32,269

1998

1,951,915

477,465

1,441,418

33,032

1999

1,881,765

479,917

1,369,072

32,776

2000

1,904,677

457,203

1,412,855

34,619

31 Jan 2002 : Column 522W

Convictions

Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of criminal cases in (a) Crown court on indictment, (b) Crown court either-way case, (c) magistrates court either-way case, (d) magistrates court summary only and (e) in total, resulted in a conviction in the last five years for which figures are available. [29643]

Mr. Keith Bradley:
The following table provides the available information, extracted from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database, which relates to the number of defendants proceeded against in each of the years 1996 to 2000 in England and Wales.

Number and percentage(19) of defendants convicted for the various categories of offences, England and Wales, 1996 to 2000

Number

Percentage

1996

Defendants convicted at the Crown court for indictable only offences

11,438

73

Defendants convicted at the Crown court for triable either-way offences